Vocabulary word halloween costumes

1. All Hallows Eve — another name for Halloween.

   apparition — a transparent, ghostly figure.

   autumn — the season that comes after summer and before winter. Also known as «fall» in the USA.

   bag — a container for candy (US English) or sweets (British English) given out at Halloween to children who dress up in costumes and go «trick or treating» around their local neighbourhood.

   banshee — an unhappy, wailing ghost which features in Irish and Scottish folklore. Banshees are said to appear when somebody is about to die.

   bat — a small flying mammal, with leathery wings. According to legend, vampires are said to be able to turn into bats.

   black — the darkest colour, and the colour of night.

   black cat — black cats are said to bring good luck in parts of the UK and Ireland. According to folklore, black cats are said to have supernatural powers, and witches often keep them as pets, or familiars.

   blood — red liquid running through veins of people and warm blooded creatures.

   bloodcurdling — a chilling, scary sound. Often used to describe screams.

   bogeyman — a fictional scary person, used to frighten children who misbehave.

   bones — hard pieces of a person’s or animal’s skeleton.

   boo — a word which is sometimes used to frighten people, when playing tricks.

   brew — 1) to cook liquid (verb). 2) cooked beverage or dish, e.g. witches brew (noun).

   broom or broomstick — a type of brush with a long wooden handle, said to be used by witches to fly, according to legend.

   candle — a wax cylinder with a wick in the middle, that can be lit with a match to provide a source of light.

   candy — (US English) sweet treats given to children at Halloween.

   casket — a coffin.

   cat — a cute, fluffy mammal, said to be favourite pet of witches.

   cape — a long, voluminous outer garment, or cloak. Often worn by vampires.

   cauldron — a cooking pot, used by witches to brew spells.

   cemetery — a place where dead people are buried (British English).

   cloak — an outer garment, or cape.

   coffin — a container for a dead body. Generally made of wood and lined with silk, with a hinged lid.

   corpse — a dead body.

   costume — a make-believe outfit, worn for fun at Halloween.

   creepy — unsettling, or scary.

   dead — not alive.

   demon — a devil.

   devil — an evil spirit.

   disguise — a costume, often worn for fun at Halloween parties by adults and children alike. At Halloween, partygoers sometimes dress up as mummies, witches, werewolves or vampires!

   evil — malicious, bad, ill intentioned.

   fall — the season that comes after summer and before winter (American English). Known as «autumn» in the UK.

   familiar — a pet animal kept by witches, which is said to have the ability to change into human shape, according to folklore.

   fangs — sharp, pointy upper front teeth, designed for piercing flesh.

   festival — a celebration, or special event.

   fiend — a monster or demon.

   frighten — (verb) to scare, startle.

   frightening — scary.

   ghost — undead spirit that haunts houses.

   ghostly — ghost-like.

   ghoul — a fictional flesh eating monster that is said to rob graves, according to folklore.

   goblin — a small, ugly, mischievous creature, with a reputation for causing trouble.

   gory — bloody, macabre.

   grave — a burial space for a coffin in a cemetery.

   graveyard — a place where dead people are buried (American English)

   Grim Reaper — the name traditionally used to symbolise Death. In British English folklore, Death is usually depicted as a skeleton in a long black cloak, carrying a scythe.

   grisly — horrid, gruesome, bloody.

   gruesome — horrible, bloody, macabre.

   haunted — a place frequented by ghosts or other spirits of the dead.

   horror — shock or fright. Horror films are very popular, and are often shown on television at Halloween.

   howl — a high pitched noise made by dogs and wolves.

   Jack O’ Lantern — a lantern carved from a pumpkin, with a candle inside.

   lantern — a type of lamp.

   magic — the power or ability to make things happen by casting spells, or entertaining people by performing tricks.

   mausoleum — an ornate, stone cemetery building, built to house the coffins of rich and famous people, or members of the same family.

   monster — a fearful, horrid, imaginary creature.

   moon — large, round satellite that revolves around the earth, which can be seen in the sky at night.

   mummy — a dead person, who was buried wrapped in bandages.

   nightmare — a scary, bad dream.

   October — the tenth month of the year.

   orange — a bright colour associated with Halloween and other autumn festivals, such as The Mexican Day of The Dead (El Dia de los Muertos).

   phantom — a ghostly apparition.

   prank — a trick, or practical joke.

   pumpkin — an orange vegetable, which is often carved and hollowed out to make Halloween lanterns.

   scare — (verb) to frighten a person or animal.

   scary — something which is frightening.

   skull — the bony part of the head, attached to a person’s skeleton.

   scythe — a long, sharp, curved blade.

   shadow — a dark shape cast by an object positioned between a surface and a source of light, such as the moon.

   skeleton — the hard inner frame of person’s or animal’s body, formed from bones that join together.

   shock — fright.

   spell — a magic rite, cast by witches.

   spider — an insect with eight legs that spins webs.

   spirits — the ghosts of dead people.

   spooky — mildly scary, though often in a fun way.

   sweets — sugary treats given to children at Halloween (British English).

   tomb — a building where dead people are buried.

   tombstone — a large, upright stone placed at the head of a grave. Gravestones often have information about the person who is buried in the grave carved into them, such as their date of birth, when they died, and other information about their life.

   trick — a practical joke, or other act of deception.

   treat — a fun, unexpected surprise, designed to please someone.

   trick or treat — a popular Halloween custom in the UK and USA, where children dress up in costumes and visit people’s houses in search of sweets (British English) or candy (US English).

   vampire — an undead creature who sleeps in a coffin by day, and ventures out at night to bite people and drink their blood.

   wand — a stick used for casting magic spells.

   web — spiders spin these to catch flies.

   warlock — a male witch.

   werewolf — a person who turns into a wolf whenever there is a full moon. According to folklore, if a person is bitten by a werewolf, then they become a werewolf, too!

   Wicca — an ancient religion, practised by witches.

   wicked — bad or evil.

   witch — a woman believed to have magical powers.

   witchcraft — magic, practised by witches.

   wraith — a Scottish word for a ghost.

   zombie — an undead, flesh eating creature.

Хэллоуин для России — праздник новый, в отличие от Великобритании и США. История его уходит глубоко корнями в Средние века. Кельты, населявшие территорию Британии, Ирландии и Северной Франции, делили календарный год на две части: светлую, с мая по октябрь, и темную, с ноября по апрель. И верили, что в ночь с 31 октября на 1 ноября между нашим миром и миром духов открывается дверь, через которую могла проникнуть нечисть. Поэтому кельты переодевались в звериные шкуры, чтобы отпугнуть злых духов. С приходом христианства в Европу папа Римский Григорий III сделал 1 ноября праздником Всех Святых, а 31 октября, соответственно, — кануном праздника.

В наши дни «Хеллоуин» носит чисто маскарадный характер, однако, люди до сих пор верят, что в этот день открывается невидимая дверь между мирами, поэтому переодеваются в дьяволов, демонов, чудищ и т. д. Считается, что чем страшнее костюм, тем больше нечисть испугается и скорее убежит. В Россию праздник Всех Святых пришел из Европы 30 лет назад, и лишь за последние 10 лет приобрел популярность. По случаю самого страшного праздника в году приводим подборку слов и выражений на Хэллоуин на английском языке.

1. Be afraid of [ bi əˈfreɪd ɒv ] бояться
2. Bats [ bæts ] летучие мыши
3. Bewitched [ bɪˈwɪtʃt ] заколдованный
4. Blood Curdling [ blʌd ˈkɜːdəlɪŋ ] то от чего, кровь сворачивается (от страха)
5. Bones [bəʊnz ] кости
6. Bone Rattling [ bəʊn ˈratlɪŋ ] кости гремят
7. Bonfire [ ‘bɔn,faiə ] костер
8. Broomstick [ˈbruːmstɪk ] ведьмина метла
9. Candles [ ˈkændəlz ] свечи
10. Cauldron [ ˈkɔːldr(ə)n ] зелье
11. Celtic festival [ ‘keltik ‘festivl ] Кельтский фестиваль
12. Coffin [ ˈkɒfɪn ] гроб
13. Clock Chimes [ klɒk tʃaɪmz ] бой часов
14. Costume Party [ ‘kɔstju:m ‘pɑ:ti ] костюмированный бал, маскарад
15. Creepy [ ˈkriːpi ] страшный, зловещий
16. Curse [ kəːs ] проклятие
17. Danger [ˈdeɪn(d)ʒə ] опасность
18. Decaying [ dɪˈkeɪɪŋ ] разлагающийся
19. Disguice / fancy dress [ disguis / ‘fænsi dres ] карнавальные костюмы
20. Evil laughter [ i:vl ˈlɑːftə ] злой смех
21. Evil spirit [ i:vl ‘spirit ] злой дух
22. Footsteps [ˈfʊtsteps ] шаги
23. Frighten [ ˈfrʌɪt(ə)n ] пугать
24. Full moon [ fʊl muːn ] полнолуние
25. Ghost [ gəust ] призрак
26. Ghost Stories [ gəust ˈstɔːrɪz ] истории про приведения
27. Ghost Ship [ gəust ʃɪp ] корабль-призрак
28. Gory [ ˈɡɔːri ] полный крови
29. Grave [ ɡreɪv ] могила
30. Graveyard [ ˈɡreɪvjɑːd ] кладбище
31. Heavy breathing [ ˈhɛvi ˈbriːðɪŋ ] тяжелое дыхание
32. Haunted House [ hɔ:ntɪd haus ] дом с приведениями (проклятый)
33. Howling [ ˈhaʊlɪŋ ] вой
34. Jack o’Lantern [ dʒæk ə ˈlæntən ] светильник Джека (тыква с вырезанным зловещим лицом)
35. Moans and groans [ məʊnz ænd ɡrəʊnz ] стоны и вздохи
36. Net [ net ] паутина
37. Nightmare [ ˈnʌɪtmɛː ] кошмар
38. Owl [ aʊl ] сова
39. Paranormal [ parəˈnɔːm(ə)l ] паранормальный
40. Phantom [ ˈfantəm ] приведение
41. Poison [ ˈpɔɪz(ə)n ] яд
42. Poltergeist [ ˈpɒltəɡʌɪst ] полтергейст
43. Pumpkin [ ‘pʌmpkin ] тыква
44. Raven [ ˈreɪv(ə)n ] ворон
45. Scarecrows [ ˈskeəkrəʊz ] чучело
46. Scary [ ˈskɛːri ] страшный
47. Skeleton [ ˈskɛlɪt(ə)n ] скелет
48. Skull [ skʌl ] череп
49. Spell [ spel ] заклятие
50. Spider [ ˈspʌɪdə ] паук
51. Spine chilling [ spʌɪn ˈtʃɪlɪŋ ] то от чего, пробирает дрожь
52. Spooky [ ˈspuːki ] жуткий
53. Superstition [ ,sju:pə’stiʃən ] суеверие
54. Toads [ təʊdz ] жабы
55. Tombstone [ ‘tu:mstəun ] надгробная плита
56. Thunder [ ˈθʌndə ] гром
57. Trick [ trik ] трюк, проделка
58. Treat [ tri:t ] угощение
59. Trick or Treat [ trik ɔː tri:t ] «угощение или гадость» (выпрашивание сладостей)
60. Witch [ wɪtʃ ] ведьма
61. Witches hat [ ˈwɪtʃɪz hæt ] ведьмина шляпа
62. Whispers [ ˈwɪspəz ] шептание
63. Zombies [ ˈzɒmbɪz ] зомби

Хотите узнать еще больше «жутких» слов?:) Запишитесь к нам на курсы английского языка уже сегодня.

To help with the difficult vocabulary, there is a glossary at the end of the article for the words/phrases highlighted in bold.

Regardless of whether you are into Halloween or not, you probably can’t have failed to notice that celebrities around the world were trying to push their profiles over the last few days at VIP Halloween parties around the world. Donning the best, most flamboyant, or most controversial costume is guaranteed to get you some column inches and possibly result in some celebrity endorsement work or a role in the latest Hollywood C-list spoof movie. However, these days, of course, you don’t have to rely on the paparazzi thinking that you are A-list enough to be worth photographing, you can just publish yourself through twitter as many desperate Z-list celebrities did in the last 48 hours.

Heidi Klum, one-time supermodel, wife of Seal (not a seal, but Seal, the singer, of course) and now Project Runway TV host is the unofficial Queen of Halloween. This year she hosted her 12^th Annual Halloween party in Las Vegas. Her costumes have become more and more elaborate over the years and this time around she posted photos of herself throughout the day to give her twitter followers a sneak-peek at what she was wearing as her show-stopping outfit was fitted. You can see the undeniably impressive end result in the video.

The next night, she outdid everyone again with her Planet of the Apes inspired get-up (see pic below).

So, now it seems that to get into the spirit for Halloween, dressing up as a ghoulish figure with a frankenstein mask, black wig, Dracula fangs or some gory make-up, just isn’t going to cut the mustard.

You have to opt for a look that is not only inventive, but must take hours to create by a team of Hollywood make-up professional artists. So, next year when you are thinking about your ensemble make sure you’ve got a budget that runs into thousands of pounds. Otherwise you might as well just stay at home with the lights turned out so that all the trick-or-treaters in the street think that you are not at home because you’re an A-list star at the most incredible party. However, have you seen the end of the video? That party doesn’t really look like it’s kicking off, does it? In fact, I’d say it looks f*@£ing boring!

Vocabulary Glossary

push their profiles

promote yourself

Donning a costume

to put on a costume

column inches

term referring to space in a newspaper

spoof movie

a film that imitates a previous film in a humorous way

A-list

a BIG star that earns the top salary and everyone is interested in, e.g. George Clooney

C-list

not quite a big star, but is despearately trying to be one

Z-list

people know about this person, but are not really interested in them

Elaborate

complicated in design or planning

sneak-peek

a quick look at something that is secret

show-stopping outfit

a dress or some type of clothing that is so incredible that everybody has to look at it

outdid

past form of to outdo sb: to be more successful at sth

get-up

synonym of costume

ghoulish

adjective of ghoul: an evil spirit that feeds on dead bodies

isn’t going to cut the mustard

idiom meaning not good enough

opt for a look

choose a costume

ensemble

an outfit or costume

trick-or-treaters

children that knock on your door on Oct 31^st asking for sweets

kicking off

to be very exciting

This week marks a very special holiday in the United States: Halloween! As our students prepare their costumes, we have prepared a list of common vocabulary words and expressions to help you through the holiday, plus a mini-grammar lesson on Comparatives and Superlatives to help you use correct grammar when talking about the funniest, most original, and cutest costumes of the year.

Useful Halloween vocabulary words:

pumpkin

trick-or-treat

jack-o-latern

ghost

ghoul

vampire

werewolf

haunted house

witch

warlock

zombie

Useful Halloween Phrases:

Dress up (phrasal verb): to put on a costume (or, to put on really nice, fancy clothes)

“What are you dressing up as for Halloween?”

“I am dressing up as a pumpkin.”

Another way to talk about your costume is to use the phrase “go as.”

“I am going as Superman for Halloween this year.”

Carve a pumpkin (verb): to cut a face or shape into a pumpkin.

“I carved a scary face into my pumpkin.”

Using Comparatives and Superlatives to Describe Costumes

We often compare costumes: which is scariest? Which is funniest? Which is cutest? To do this correctly, we use Comparatives and Superlatives.

“His costume is scarier than mine.” (Comparative: you are comparing between two things.)

“Ben’s costume is the scariest.” (Superlative: you are comparing between more than two things.)

Remember, with comparatives using most one and two syllable words, you add “-er” to the end of most words.

scary –> scarier

cute –> cuter

funny –> funnier

With superlatives, when you compare more than two things, you add “-est” to the end of the words.

scary –> scarier –> scariest

cute –> cuter –> cutest

funny –> funnier –> funniest

What about with three or more syllable words, like the following?

original

creative

frightening

disturbing

current

To compare two things using these words, you must add “more (adjective) than”

His costume is more original than mine.

Her costume was more creative than Sarah’s.

His costume was more frightening than Jim’s.

Jim’s costume was more disturbing than Todd’s.

Her costume was more current than anyone else’s.

To use these words to compare more than two things, use the word “the most” with the adjective.

His costume is the most original.

Her costume was the most creative.

His costume was the most frightening.

Jim’s costume was the most disturbing.

Her costume was the most current.

Using Comparatives and Superlatives for Halloween

In your opinion, who won the awards for:

• Most original
• Scariest
• Funniest
• Most disturbing
• Most complicated
• Most daring
• Cutest
• Most colorful
• Most detailed

Send us a picture of your choices at [email protected] and we will post them next week! Happy Halloween to all of our students!

October 31 is right here, on the corner.

Do you know what that means?

It means a lot of vampires, zombies, and witches on the streets, but also a lot of candies.

Yes, we are talking about one of the most favorite holidays, Halloween.

Some of you probably know all the details about Halloween, while some are only familiar with the basics.

This holiday is mainly celebrated in the USA, Canada, and the UK, but for the past several years, you can see that many European countries celebrate Halloween as well.

If you’ve been watching some of
the most famous American sitcoms, you must have run into episodes where characters celebrate Halloween, dressed as spooky monsters, Frankenstein, or mummies. At the same time, kids knock on doors saying ‘trick or treat.

So, for those who want to know better,  it is the perfect timing to learn some of the Halloween words and phrases, and for those who already know every single detail, it couldn’t hurt to repeat them, just in case.

After you learn all these Halloween catchphrases, you might want to practice using them with
English tutors. That way, you can be sure you’re pronouncing them right and using them in the proper context.

Before we dive in, make sure you’re dressed as a zombie, witch, or mummy so that you can have a complete feeling.

Halloween Vocabulary

In the following lines, you can find some of the most common Halloween phrases and words you definitely have to know. We’ve also prepared an extended list of Halloween Word List in PDF file. You can save it to your device and take a peek whenever you need it, especially on October 31.

Bonus: Get your free Halloween vocabulary PDF file

Halloween

Today, Halloween is celebrated because of kids. This holiday’s whole point is to have fun, dress up in costumes, eat candies, and play games.

What was, centuries ago, a
pagan celebration, called Samhain, to scare away the evil ghosts, today is a modern tradition.

The name ‘Halloween’ comes from the term ‘All Hallow’s Eve,’ which means ‘hallowed evening.’ It’s not accidentally that Halloween is celebrated on October 31. 

As you already know, November 1 is
All Saints’ Day, which, according to tradition, means that the connection between our world and the spiritual one is thin at this time.

At first, people wore costumes to scare away evil spirits, so they eventually evolved into what we know today as an entertaining holiday.

Black Cat

‘Black cats bring bad luck.’

Have you ever heard of this superstition? 

Besides that, black cats are connected to witches and witchcraft, too, and one of Halloween’s symbols. Long ago, superstition people believed that witches are turning into black cats.

And did you know that people believe that black cats can actually help you find love in some parts of the world?

Candy

Even though it isn’t a scary word, it is a far more important Halloween noun you want to know.

When kids dress up in costumes and go trick or treating, they visit neighbors for one reason only. To get candies!

Some of the most common Halloween candies are
caramel apples, candy corn, skittles, M&Ms, etc.

Costume

At first sight, it seems that the difference between words ‘custom’ and ‘costume’ is in two or three letters only.

But, it is much more than that. These words are pronounced differently, and their meanings aren’t even similar.

The costume is a kind of disguise, something you put on your body and sometimes put a mask on your face. You wear costumes to look differently.

So, the costume is an inevitable part of Halloween. Use this word with verbs as ‘dress up,’ ‘wear,’ or ‘go as.’

Decorations

Decorations are various objects you put to making something more appealing and festive.

When it comes to Halloween, they are mandatory.

How will people even know that you participate if your house doesn’t look spooky or you don’t put skeletons and spiderwebs?

Ghosts

Ghosts or spirits are the souls of a dead person. They can stay in our world and watch over their family members, friends, or people they meant something while they were alive. They can also haunt people and scare them.

So, if you want to wear a Halloween costume, dressing up as a ghost is a cheap and straightforward solution.

Graveyard

A cemetery or graveyard is a place where dead people are buried.

Since Halloween is all about ghosts and spirits, it is evident that the graveyard is one of Halloween’s common symbols.

Haunted House

When someone or something is haunted, it means that a spirit possesses them or lives in it.

For example, when many strange things happen in a house, people believe that it is haunted.

On Halloween, on the other hand, haunted houses are mandatory. People decorate their houses with spiderwebs, skeleton, mummies, tombstones to look like they’re haunted.

How would Halloween look like without a haunted house? Nothing special, right?

Jack-o-Lantern

If you read the next line, you will immediately understand what Jack-o-lantern means.

It’s a pumpkin.

Basically, the pumpkin takes the central place, a common decoration, on Halloween. When you carve a face onto a pumpkin and put a candle inside, its face will glow. And you’ve got yourself a Jack-o-lantern.

Scarecrows

Farmers often use scarecrows to scare away birds.

They make them with old clothes and straw as hair to make it look like a person. Like that, a scarecrow is put on a tall stick and it scares most of the birds.

Skeleton

Skeleton is all bones in a body.

Living people also have skeletons, besides skin, muscles, and organs.

The skeleton is one of Halloween’s symbols because it is the remains of a dead person, which really makes it
creepy, ideal for Halloween.

The Grim Reaper

If you aren’t familiar with this term, we should mention its synonym, ‘death.’

Death is a ‘person’ dressed in a black robe with a hood that carries a sickle.

His other name ‘Grim Reaper’ comes from the words ‘grim’ in the meaning ‘dark’ and ‘reaper’ in the meaning ‘to harvest things’ in our case, to harvest dead people. 

The Grim Reaper can be seen in many movies and shows, and found in books, too.

Trick-Or-Treat

‘Trick’ is a synonym for the word ‘prank’ which means ‘to fool someone.’ The term ‘treat’ is something nice and delicious, like candies and chocolate.

The phrase ‘trick or treat’ kids use on Halloween to say that if you don’t give them treats, they will perform a trick on you.

Before saying this famous phrase, kids dress up in costumes and mainly in groups and go to different houses in the neighborhood. Then they knock on doors and say together ‘trick or treat!’

Vampire

Have you heard about the
Count Dracula from Transylvania? He is sophisticated, polite, but still creepy. He is a vampire.

Vampires are immortal. They bite on their necks and drink their blood. When a vampire bites you, you will likely become a vampire, too.

Vampires can transform into bats, which are one of the Halloween symbols, as well. 

Today, there are many
books, movies, and tv series about vampires.

Zombie

The word ‘zombie’ isn’t only similar in many languages, and one more common symbol of Halloween.

Zombies are dead bodies that come alive. They can walk slowly and be really fast as well, but the scary thing about them is that they eat people and their brains. 

Final Thoughts

Halloween is an ideal time for you to
expand your English vocabulary.

If you have the chance to hang out and
speak with the locals, you can then impress them with these scary words.

More words and phrases are waiting for you in
our Halloween Word List in a PDF file. 

No matter if you stay at home and watch Halloween TV series, you dress up as a witch, vampire, or zombie, and go out for trick or treating, don’t forget to wish everyone a
Happy Halloween!